▶ “Trump may compromise on nuclear freeze… Voices about Korea’s possession of nuclear weapons could become louder.”
▶ Korea Federation of Industries Forum special lecture… “North Korea-Russia closeness is temporary”
Lee Il-gyu, former North Korean embassy in Cuba special lecture (Seoul = Yonhap News) = Lee Il-gyu, former North Korean embassy in Cuba special lecture, was held at the Automobile Center in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 6th at the event hosted by the Korea Federation of Industries Forum and Global Industrial Competitiveness Forum. Appeared as a special lecturer on ‘Economic Status and Implications’.
Lee Il-gyu, a former counselor at the North Korean embassy in Cuba who defected from North Korea last November, said on the 6th (Korean time), “If former U.S. President Donald Trump re-enters the White House, North Korea will be able to induce the establishment of diplomatic relations with the U.S. and partial lifting of sanctions.” “It will be,” he predicted.
At a special lecture on ‘North Korea’s economic situation and implications’ held on this day at the Automobile Center in Seocho-gu, Seoul, hosted by the Korea Federation of Industries Forum and the Global Industrial Competitiveness Forum, Lee answered questions related to the North Korea-US relationship that will change if Trump is elected.
Former Minister Lee said, “Choi Son-hui, the commander of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is a person with a long history of fighting against the United States, and will approach (North Korea-US relations) more cautiously and practically than during Trump’s first term,” adding, “It will increase Kim Jong-un’s position in North Korea.” “In addition, we will pursue the practical goals that North Korea wants from the United States,” he said.
North Korea’s minimum requirements for the United States, as predicted by this disaster, are the establishment of diplomatic relations with the United States and partial lifting of sanctions against North Korea.
He also analyzed that even if there were such demands from North Korea, it would not be easy for the United States to accept them.
He said, “If the Republican Party comes to power, it will confront North Korea with CVID (complete, verifiable, and irreversible destruction of North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction), and North Korea will not accept nuclear inspection as an irreversible method.” “What we are advocating is nuclear disarmament,” he said.
He added, “However, there may be a buffer point such as a ‘nuclear freeze’, and Trump may compromise on something such as a nuclear freeze for political results.”
He said, “If Trump is elected, it will be both bad news and an opportunity for Korea.”
Representative examples include Trump’s request for $10 billion in defense cost sharing for U.S. forces in Korea, which is more than nine times the amount recently agreed upon by the two countries, and the possibility of holes in the ‘Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation’ that was solidified during the Biden administration.
He said, “I do not believe that the issue of withdrawal of U.S. troops related to overseas troop deployment will bring significant changes to North Korea and American society even if Trump becomes president. However, (Trump’s administration) will be much more advantageous to North Korea than the Democratic Party’s administration, and the relationship between North Korea and the U.S. “There will be some contact,” he said.
He predicted that “if the United States and North Korea contact, there will be benefits such as broadening North Korea’s position in the international community,” but added, “The relationship between the United States and the Republic of Korea, which are bound together as a community with a destiny to protect the liberal democratic system, is “I wonder if that will happen. It could be an opportunity for South Korea to raise voices about our possession of nuclear weapons.”
Lee Il-gyu, former counselor at the North Korean embassy in Cuba, being interviewed (Geneva = Yonhap News) = Lee Il-gyu, former counselor at the North Korean embassy in Cuba, who defected from North Korea last year and came to South Korea, is being interviewed by Yonhap News at a hotel in Geneva, Switzerland, on the 28th (local time).
Regarding North Korea’s close relationship with Russia, coupled with North Korea’s deployment of troops to the Russian-Ukraine war, he argued, “It may be that the international community’s sanctions against North Korea partially open a loophole and North Korea can take a breather, but it is unclear how long this close relationship will last.”
He said, “If Putin ends the war in Ukraine, returns to being a normal member of the international community, and resumes exchanges with the West, including the United States, North Korea will become an irritant and its strategic interest relationship with Russia will disappear.” “The failure of this ‘20×10 local development’ policy will come sooner,” he said.
This former disaster asserted that structural reform of the North Korean economy would be impossible.
He argued, “Structural economic reform will never be possible because it will create a serious risk to maintaining the Kim family’s one-man dictatorship,” and added, “In conclusion, economic recovery is impossible at any time without ideological and structural changes in North Korean society.” .
